what’s living
Brendan Walsh
the mango tree, the coconut palms
the mockingbird on the STOP sign
the gulf fritillary riding wind all the way up
to my balcony, the gulf fritillary whose name
I had to look up just now, and you will too
the gulf fritillary whose name is onomatopoeia
the men in cranes who must work
even on sundays, because the rich will have
more buildings, more properties,
more of a share of our one great sky
the sandhill cranes who also claim a share
with honk and wingspan, with migration
the northern cardinal who is much too south
the pothos that we removed from the bedroom
since it grew beyond its limits, along walls
and around the legs of furniture and possibly
threatened to choke me in my sleep
the flies, everywhere the flies
the invasive brown anole, the native green anole
the royal poincianas, queens of our neighborhood
imported centuries ago from Madagascar
Brendan Walsh has lived and taught in South Korea, Laos, and South Florida. His work has recently appeared in Rattle, Glass Poetry, Indianapolis Review, American Literary Review, Baltimore Review, Maine Review, The American Journal of Poetry, and other journals. He is the author of six collections of poetry, including 'Buddha vs. Bonobo' (Sutra Press) and 'fort lauderdale' (Grey Book Press). His latest collection, 'concussion fragment', winner of the 2020 elsewhere chapbook contest, was released in February 2022. He is co-host of the Fat Guy, Jacked Guy podcast with Stef Rubino. He's online at brendanwalshpoetry.com.